262 OBITUARY 2 



what rash determination never " to read a book on 

 geology or in any way to study the science " so 

 long as he lived. (I. p. 41.) 



There is much reason to believe that the 

 lectures in question were eminently qualified to 

 produce the impression which they made ; and 

 there can be little doubt, that Darwin's conclusion 

 that his time was better employed in reading 

 than in listening to such lectures was a sound 

 one. But it was particularly unfortunate that 

 the personal and professorial dulness of the 

 Professor of Anatomy, combined with Darwin's 

 sensitiveness to the disagreeable concomitants of 

 anatomical work, drove him away from the 

 dissecting room. In after life, he justly recognised 

 that this was an " irremediable evil " in reference 

 to the pursuits he eventually adopted ; indeed, it 

 is marvellous that he succeeded in making up for 

 his lack of anatomical discipline, so far as his 

 work on the Cirri pedes shows he did. And the 

 neglect of anatomy had the further unfortunate 

 result that it excluded him from the best 

 opportunity of bringing himself into direct contact 

 with the facts of nature which the University had 

 to offer. In those days, almost the only practical 

 scientific work accessible to students was anatomi- 

 cal, and the only laboratory at their disposal the 

 dissecting room. 



We may now console ourselves with the 

 reflection that the partial evil was the general 



